Matboard corner organizing system

ABSTRACT

A mat board corner sample organizing system is disclosed. A plurality of mat board corner samples is provided and the mat board corner samples have various properties. A notch is disposed on an edge of each mat board corner sample. The notch is located along the edge of the mat board corner sample at a predetermined location according to the properties of the mat board corner sample. Thus, the location of the notch correlates to the properties of the mat board corner samples. The mat board corner samples can be arranged in groups, and the mat board corner samples in each group have a common property. The notches on the mat board corner samples in each group are located at the same location. Thus, the mat board corner samples can be maintained in organized groups by grouping together mat board corner samples that have notches at the same location.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to framing, and morespecifically to mat board corner samples used to assist in the framingof an article to be framed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A mat board is a relatively thin, flat piece of material that is used inframing to provide contrast between the article to be framed and theframe, and enhance the aesthetics of the framed piece. Mat boards aretypically composed of a paper-based material, but may be made from othermaterials and could also include a decorative covering (such as cloth ora metallic coating). They also may be provided with different surfacefinishes, patterns or symbols. Being paper-based, it is easy tomanufacture mat boards having a variety of different face colors andwith a variety of different patterns, surface ornamentation, designs andthe like.

Mat boards are most commonly used to decorate a framed article, such asa picture, painting, diploma or other article. Aside from aesthetics,mat boards also serve a number of functional purposes, such asseparating the glass from the artwork. Most of all though, if thecorrect size and color is chosen, mat boards are able to avert theattention of the beholder inwards or towards a key element of theartwork. Accordingly, framers usually keep many different mat boardsamples of all different colors, textures and designs at hand so thatthey may appropriately match the mat board to the particular piece beingframed.

With so many different mat board samples, however, it is often difficultto find exactly what mat board is preferred since numerous samples arehard to keep track of and will typically be in a state of disarray. Evenif the mat board samples were once organized, they quickly deteriorateinto an unorganized mess as framers will look through many differentsamples before finding the right one, many times not returning thesamples to their proper locations. This is due in part to the job beingdone quickly, but it is mostly because the large number of samplesrequire them to be horizontally or vertically stacked one on top of theother making it difficult to discern the colors of the samples in orderto select a desired mat board sample or store the samples in anorganized manner. Thus, having stacked, unorganized samples, it isdifficult for a framer to find a desired mat board sample with the colorand texture that best complements the picture.

Therefore, what is needed is a design for mat board samples that makesthem easy to keep organized, as well as access and view.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system of organizing mat board cornersamples.

In one aspect, there is a plurality of mat board corner samples, eachhaving various properties. A notch is provided on an edge of each matboard corner sample. The notch is located along the edge of the matboard corner sample at a predetermined location according to theproperties of the mat board corner sample. Thus, the location of thenotch along the edge of the mat board corner sample correlates to itsproperties.

In more particular aspects, the mat board corner samples are in aplurality of groups. Each group consists of a number of mat board cornersamples that have at least one common property. The mat board cornersamples of each group, having a common property, have their notcheslocated at the same location. Thus, the location of the notch on eachmat board corner sample provides an indication as to which group the matboard corner sample belongs and that they have a common property.

In still more particular aspects, the common property is color and eachmat board corner sample in a group is a shade of the color. Theproperties of the mat board corner samples can be at least one of color,finish, and texture.

In another aspect, the system includes a plurality of groups of matboard corner samples. Each individual mat board corner sample of eachgroup has at least one common property. There is a notch disposed on anedge of each individual mat board corner sample, and the notch islocated at the same location on each mat board corner sample in theirrespective groups. Each group of mat board corner samples has the notchlocated at a different location. A rack supports the mat board cornersamples.

In a more particular aspect, the groups of mat board are arranged alongthe rack such that the notch location for each adjacent group changes ina stepwise manner from one end of the rack to the other end.

These and other aspects, features, and problems addressed by theinvention can be further appreciated with reference to the discussion ofcertain embodiments and the drawings of such embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of the present invention will be morereadily apparent from the following detailed description and drawings ofillustrative embodiments of the invention in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mat board corner sample in accordancewith the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a mat board corner sample in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a mat board corner sample in accordance withthe present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B show alternative embodiments of the notch provided onmat board corner samples in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of multiple mat board corner samples inaccordance with the present invention organized on a corner sampleholder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 5, mat board corner samples 10 are organized intogroups 30 according to one embodiment of the invention. The individualmat board corner samples 10 can be grouped together into groups based ona variety of characteristics, such as color and shade, texture, finish,size, surface ornamentation or designs thereon, or othercharacteristics. Accordingly, mat board corner samples 10 that havesimilar characteristics can be separated into a number of groups 30 asshown in FIG. 5. All mat boards 10 belonging to a particular group havea notch 12 at a particular “height” (i.e. distance from the edge). Thus,as can be seen in FIG. 5, all mat boards 10 belonging to a particulargroup 30 have a notch 12 located along its edge at the same location. Inthis way, the mat boards belonging to different groups can be easilyidentified based on the location of the notch 12. This provides a way toorganize and maintain the mat boards in an organized manner. Using thenotch 12 and its position to identify the characteristics a mat boardcorner sample 10 possess is particularly useful because thosecharacteristics (e.g. color, texture, finish, etc.) are typically onlyvisible on a face 11 of the corner sample. When the corner samples arestored, such as shown in FIG. 5, the faces 11 of the corner samples 10cannot be readily seen, thus making identification of corner samples andstoring them in an organized manner difficult. The notches 12 can easilybe seen when the mat board corner samples 10 are stored.

Further, a framer looking for a particular mat board can look at the matboards having a notch at a location corresponding to the group in whichthe particular mat board belongs. Therefore, the framer does not have tolook through all the mat boards, but just the mat boards in a particulargroup to which the desired mat board belongs. In addition, once thedesired mat board corner sample is selected and removed from the cornersample holder or rack 32, the mat board corner sample 10 can be returnedto the proper location on the corner sample holder 32 by matching thenotch location on the individual mat board with the notch location ofthe other mat boards in its group. Thus, a system for organizing matboards, wherein mat boards can be grouped so that a desired mat boardcan be efficiently selected, and a system for maintaining theorganization of the mat boards is provided.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, each mat board corner sample, showngenerally at 10, is provided with a notch 12 located along the outeredge 14 at a predetermined distance from the bottom edge 16 of thecorner sample 10. The mat board corner sample 10 is shaped so that itcan be held at the corner of a piece of artwork to give the framerand/or customer a better idea of how the particular mat board willcompliment the article to be framed. The corner samples 10 can come in avariety of different colors and shades, textures, finishes, and sizesand may have surface ornamentation or designs thereon or othercharacteristics.

In one embodiment, the location or height of the notch 12 from thebottom edge 16 is determined by the color family to which the cornersample 10 belongs. Since the number of color families will varydepending on the desired number of groupings, the number of differentnotch heights will also vary. For example, the color families couldcomprise grey, white, black, yellow, green, blue, violet, red andorange, thus nine different notch heights corresponding to the number ofcolor families would be provided. Each individual corner sample in thegroup is a different shade of the group color. For example, eachindividual corner sample in the “red” group would be a different shadeof the color red.

The mat board corner samples can be further delineated by providingadditional notches at additional height intervals. As anothernon-limiting example, the color families can comprise grey, black,white, yellow, yellow/green, green, blue/green, blue, blue/violet,violet, red/violet, red, red/orange, orange and yellow/orange, thusresulting in fifteen different notch heights. Of course, the mat boardcorner samples can be grouped by any color scheme. The corner samples 10could be further or alternatively organized by texture or othercharacteristics if so desired so long as each grouping in theorganization scheme corresponds to a particular notch location. Theinvention is not limited to a particular number of notch heights and anynumber can be used.

The notch 12 may be any size or shape, such as triangular, rectangular,square, polygonal, parabolic or irregular, or semicircular. Theinvention is not limited to a particular notch shape and any shape maybe used. In one embodiment, the notches 12 are semicircles having a ¼inch diameter; however the invention is not limited to such dimensions.As other non-limiting examples, FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate embodimentswherein the shape of the notch 12 is rectangular and triangular,respectively.

Referring now to FIG. 5, three different groups of corner samples 30 areshown organized on a corner sample holder 32. As illustrated, the notchheights, the distance from the bottom edge 16 of the corner sample tothe notch 12, are staggered at even intervals, progressing upwards fromthe bottom edge 16. In one embodiment, there are 15 notch heights,spaced at ⅝ inch intervals along a corner sample having an outer edge 16that is approximately 11.2 inches in length. However, it is noted thatthe notch heights may be spaced at any interval or irregularly spaced solong as they correspond to the desired organizational scheme. Further,the dimensions are provided as a non-limiting example, and any desireddimensions can be used.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 5, the corner samples 10 may be providedwith a corner sample holder 32 of sufficient length to hold a pluralityor set of corner samples. The holder 32 has a wedge portion 31 thatcorresponds to horizontal and vertical inner edges 18 and 20 of thecorner samples 10. The holder 32 has end portions 33, one at each end(not shown), for helping to maintain the corner samples 10 on the holder32. The holder may be of a conventional type. The holder may be squaredor at a diagonal such that the outer edge 14 of the corner samples 10,with the notches 12 located thereon, faces toward the user.

When arranged, the notches 12 on the corner samples 10 that belong to aparticular group 30 should be aligned side by side as shown in FIG. 5.Looking along the outer edges 14 of the corner samples 10 from the endhaving the lowest notch height, there will be a number of corner samples10 sharing the same notch height forming a first group 30, then thenotch height is stepped up for the next group of samples 30 and so on.While it is shown that the groups of corner samples 30 are organizedsuch that notch heights are arranged in steps, they may be organizedsuch that the notch heights take a different pattern or are randomlyarranged. For example, looking at the groups of corner samples 30 alongthe holder 32 from right to left, the notch heights could go from highto low to mid-height.

The groups of samples 30, wherein each mat board corner sample in thesame group has a notch at a particular height and the mat boards indifferent groups have notches at a different height, may also beseparated using dividers 34. The dividers 34 can have tabs 36 which mayprovide information about the mat boards belonging to a single group.The information can indicate which color family the mat boards in thegroup 30 correspond to, or other characteristics the mat boards in thegroup share. Preferably, these dividers 34 are shaped similarly to thecorner samples, and have a tab 36 protruding at one side. The dividersand or tabs may be blank or colored corresponding to the color family ofthe group of mat boards or have other indicia. The dividers 34 areplaced in-line immediately before or after each group of mat boardcorner samples 30 as shown in FIG. 5. Each tab 36 is preferably utilizedto indicate to which group or color family the upcoming corner samples10 belong.

Alternatively, the notches 12 provided on corner samples 10 could varybased on which group 30 they belong. For example, looking at the groupsof samples 30 from right to left on the holder 32, the first group couldhave semicircular notches, while the second and third groups could haverectangular and triangular notches as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4Brespectively. In this way, a user could be able to tell which group orcolor family a corner sample 10 belongs by observing or merely feelingthe shape of the notch 12. Similarly, the notches 12 could be coloredbased on which group 30 that the corner samples 10 belong such that auser looking at the outer edges 14 could readily observe the properplacement of the corner samples. For example, the notch 12 could becolored the same color as the corner sample 10. Alternatively, allcorner samples 10 belonging to the same group (e.g., belonging to thesame color family or sharing some other characteristic) could havenotches 12 colored a single shade similar to the group's color familywhen the notches are used to identify the group of mat boards by color.

The notches 12 streamline the process of selecting and replacing samples10, making it easier to find desired colors and shades, and also ensurethat the corner samples 10 will not become disorganized. If a cornersample were misplaced, it would be easy to recognize and cure. If thereis a notch 12 that is not aligned with adjacent notches, or which doesnot progressively step up or down at the proper interval, it can easilybe put back into its proper location by placing it between or next tocorner samples 10 sharing a similar notch height. Accordingly, framersare able to choose corner samples 10 from desired groups both quicklyand easily, while also being able to quickly and easily return thesample to its proper group.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A mat board corner sample organizing system, comprising a pluralityof mat board corner samples, each having various properties; and a notchdisposed on an edge of each mat board corner sample, wherein the notchis located along the edge of the mat board corner sample at apredetermined location according to the properties of the mat boardcorner sample.
 2. A mat board corner sample organizing system accordingto claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of groups of mat boardcorner samples, wherein each group comprises a number of mat boardcorner samples having at least one common property, with each mat boardcorner sample of each group having the notch located at the samepredetermined location.
 3. A mat board corner sample organizing systemaccording to claim 2, wherein the common property is color and each matboard corner sample in a group is a shade of the common color.
 4. A matboard corner sample organizing system according to claim 1, wherein theproperties of the mat board corner samples comprise at least one ofcolor, finish, and texture.
 5. A mat board corner sample organizingsystem, comprising a plurality of groups of mat board corner samples,wherein each individual mat board corner sample of each group has atleast one common property; a notch disposed on an edge of eachindividual mat board corner sample, wherein the notch is located alongthe edge of each mat board corner sample in the same group at the samelocation, and each group of mat board corner samples having the notchlocated at a different location; and a rack for supporting the mat boardcorner samples.
 6. A mat board corner sample organizing system accordingto claim 5, wherein the groups of mat board are arranged along the racksuch that the notch location for each adjacent group changes in astepwise manner from one end of the rack to the other end.